Phineas Mollod

The Modern Gentleman is a good airport read — the sections are very short and there aren't any complex meanings to work out over the din of headline news. The content is pretty much straight-up Miss Manners: don't be a jerk, write thank-you cards, and bring a hostess gift. The tone is older-and-experienced-acerbic-big-brother rather than older-and-experienced-acerbic-old-lady.

There is a constant harangue to know something about everything, including the rules of every card game and the taste of every liquor. While I'm sure that person is vastly entertaining for the first week, it seems like depth rather than breadth would be a little more attainable, as well as interesting. I shudder to imagine an outing full of people who can taste the difference between cognac and armagnac.… (mais)

Written by Jason Tesauro and Phineas Mollod, this witty etiquette guide is both far-ranging and practically minded. The book is written more with a sense of fun than with an eye on truly gentlemanly behavior. There is a disproportionate amount of space devoted to the proper use of the hip flask, for example, while another section offers detailed instructions on gate-crashing. Still, the book does offer startlingly good advice on how to ditch high school reunions. It’s probably not the ideal book from which to pattern your behavior, but it’s certainly an entertaining read.… (mais)